をさぎ

See also: をざき

Old Japanese

Etymology

From Proto-Japonic *wosanki.

Given this Eastern Old Japanese reflex, the Western pronunciation would have been *osanki. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Noun

をさぎ (wosagi₁)

1. (regional, Eastern Old Japanese) a rabbit
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 14, poem 3529:
     , text here

     等夜乃野爾乎佐藝禰良波里乎佐乎左毛禰奈敞古由惠爾波伴爾許呂波要

     To₂ya-no₂-no₁ ni wosagi₁ nerapari wosawosa mo nenape₁ ko₁ yuwe ni papa ni ko₂ro₂paye

     In the fields of Töya where I hardly aimed at a rabbit, my child never slept, and as a result, mother scolded me.

Descendants

• Japanese: 兎 (usagi)